The beat of hooves

Chapter II | More than I deserve

Devin couldn't really help but to apologize as he entered Oceana and James house. They repeated that it was all fine and Devin didn't really think he could get past James if he wasn't truly invited into the house.
Devin took off his jacket and hung it up beside their jackets, it looked so rugged compared to theirs and he once again felt bad about bringing it inside the house.

Oceana and James didn't have much, but it was much more than he had himself. And to him it looked absolutely amazing. Of course he had insisted that he would help around the farm before going inside the house. They had eventually agreed to it and he had found out that it was much harder than he originally thought it would be but compared to the fist fights he normally went into he could see himself working on a farm. The fresh air was nice and the animals seemed so much calmer than the animals and people in town.
Before he even knew it the sky had begun to darken over the horizon and him and Oceana's conversation was interrupted by James yelling from the open kitchen window that the food was ready.
Devin had been quite surprised while asking how James could cook so quickly, which in turn had made Oceana laugh.
"Didn't you notice that he went in a long time ago." He hadn't noticed that. Time had passed so quickly.

"I think I've got some of James old clothes still laying around. They're not new. But they're newer." She yelled from another room, kicking Devin out of his thoughts. He didn't quite understand what she meant at first. It was as if she spoke another language.

"Darling, do you remember where I put your old clothes."
"I think they're on the top shelf." James walked past the still confused Devin into the room Oceana was in. It took a few minutes before James exclaimed. "There." And they both returned out into the hall where Devin was still standing, looking confused.
"Here." Oceana reached out the clothes to him.
"I'm sorry. For me?" Devin asked.
"Yes. Well. You can't really put on those dirty clothes again if you're going to wash yourself. It would defeat the purpose of the wash from the beginning."
Devin was still confused as he reached out his hands and grabbed the clothes.
"Wash." Were the only words that came out of his mouth.
"Yes. Right there around the corner." James pointed out into the room opposite the kitchen. "Hurry along. Otherwise the food will get cold."

Devin was speechless but walked over to the small bathroom. It could hardly fit a toilet and shower in it. And there wasn't much room to move. He hurried along, not wanting to waste much water but also not wanting to somehow seem ungrateful.
It was nice to get a real shower with some heat to it and it was hard not to just stand there and enjoy it for a bit but he tried to hurry. The water that flowed off him was dark with all the dirt he had managed to collect over the year. It wasn't a surprise to him that just standing out in the rain didn't help clean him.
He hurried to get done showering. It felt like time had passed so fast. How long had he already been in there? He was quite sure they would tell him if he overstayed his welcome but it didn't make him feel better. Pity was something he had tried to avoid as much as possible over the year, and here he was. Trying not to get used to it.
He paused while looking in the small, slightly broken mirror. His upper lip was cracked. Together with the blue circle around his eye he looked rugged. He gave the mirror a bit of a smile before finishing getting clothed and leaving the small bathroom.
He hadn't noticed the music before. Sure it was at low volume but he must have been too caught up in his thoughts because he should have noticed it.
Devin followed the sound into the kitchen where he was greeted by Oceana and James dancing together. Oceana noticed him standing in the doorway. She looked surprised before she laughed a tiny bit.
"I'm sorry, but I never realised you had freckles." She said. For a moment it looked like she wanted to ask something more and Devin could guess that it would be about what he had been doing to get so dirty a feature on his face would be completely blended out.
Given he didn't have prominent freckles. But still, he could understand that it was weird.
"Let's eat" James interrupted the silence and waved towards one of the chairs. It was a small table. Most likely only meant for four people. Oceana and James sat down on one side and Devin sat down on the other side, carefully as if they would throw him out if he was too eager.
It was rather sudden that he could smell the food. He must have been too nervous before. But as soon as he did his stomach started growling. He hadn't realised how hungry he was until this moment. It was hard to not just throw himself at the food. But he did have manners.
"Don't be afraid, take however much ya'd like." James gestured before turning to Oceana. "How long was it since we last had guests?" He chuckled as he grabbed potatoes onto his own plate.
"Have you seen how fat our chickens are? Too long I'd say." Oceana answered with a smile on her lips and James laughed. Devin didn't know what to say. This was all very weird for him. He lived out on the street, eating what he could afford - which occasionally was nothing. "We haven't poisoned the food." Oceana smiled and made sure to take some more of the food to reassure Devin. He smiled and stretched out his hand to also take food. He could feel his hands shaking and he tried hard to not spill anything.
Devin didn't take too much food. Even if he knew he was invited he didn't want to over step somehow.
"So. Devin." Her voice was calm and sweet. "Where do you come from?"
"Nowhere in particular. No place I will ever return to." He answered, and seeing James and Oceana's looks he knew they realised he wouldn't talk about it. "But I've lived in the town for a year." He continued as to not seem impolite. Oceana had a suspicious look on her face. He could almost feel her gaze digging into him as he bent down his face a bit. He knew she understood what living meant. It didn't mean living comfortable.
"Well, how old are ya?" James said in a cheerful way to steer the conversation away to some easier and lighter questions.
"I'm twenty in July." Devin answered with a slightly relieved voice. Sharing his age was much easier than sharing his past. "If I may ask.. How long have you two been married?"

"Fourteen years." Oceana said with a big smile. "I was twenty-four and James was Twenty."

"Ya parents were not onboard." James chuckled fondly.
"But it didn't matter to me. I knew it would be you and me since we met." Devin couldn't help but to smile at the childing grin on James' face. He couldn't really understand the feeling. He had never met someone that he knew he would want to stay together with for the rest of his life, and he doubted anyone had ever had those feelings for him either.
They spent most of the dinner talking about stories about how Oceana and James met. A casual question here and there was thrown at Devin and he answered as truthfully as he could. He didn't want to go into his past and avoided it. Something that Oceana reluctantly accepted with a concerned look on her face. James made sure to change the subject every time he saw that concerned look.
In the end Devin had eaten more than he had the past weeks. He was sure that if he took another bite he would explode. Which James and Oceana laughed at when he told them.
"Well, I sure married well. My man can cook." She gave a wink.
"So ya only married me for the food." James said with a pretend hurt voice. "Such hurt I've never felt before."
"Oh, you know you're perfect darling." Oceana said while stretching up and kissing him on the cheek as James smiled broadly.
"Thank you so much for the food." Devin almost bowed his head in appreciation. "I shouldn't really be bothering you anymore. It's so late. Is there any way I can get a ride into town."
"Oh, don't be silly." James' voice boomed. "Of course ya will be staying here tonight. Don't even worry about it. We've got a small little house by the stable. It ain't got no kitchen or anything. But it's got a bed. I think they used to let the stable groom sleep there in the old days. It's not as uncomfortable as it sounds. The groom just needed to be close in case a mare started foaling or there was some sort of problem. I've slept there a few times."

"That's.. That's very kind of you, but I've already been such a bother." Devin gestured towards his clothes.
"Don't even think about it. I'll go with ya out there. And tomorrow when we all are rested, we can talk about that black stallion of yers." Devin smiled and nodded.

"Good night Devin." Oceana waved from the doorway.
"Good Night Oceana, and thank you so much." There was something quite amazing about getting that good night. And his smile lasted all the way down to the stable building.
"Here ya go." James said and opened the door to the small room. It wasn't big, but it had a bed which looked amazing to Devin. It had a thick quilt on it and beside the bed there was a nightstand with a lamp that could be plugged into the wall but was currently unplugged. "It's not much, but it's better than nothing." Devin nodded.
"Thank you both so much." James smiled and patted him on the back. It felt as if his rib would break again.
"It's now worry. Really. Let's talk about ya stallion tomorrow." James nodded and headed back to the house, stopping at the stable to make sure everything was in order.

It was all a bit too surreal. For all they knew he could be a thief and try to rob them. And really, what made him so sure they wouldn't murder him. He was pretty sure he had heard about cases like that. People pretending to be nice, helping people in need only to kill them later.He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the thoughts. He had two thoughts. He could just leave or he could stay. He would be back on the streets soon enough anyway. He grabbed the door handle but just stood there for a while, looking at his own hand.Even if his weird thoughts were true and he would be dead by the morning, would it really matter. At least he would be comfortable before it. He could hear the animals around him. Or at least he thought he could. The walls were thin, but it was warm inside. Much more than what he was used too. His lips shook a bit before he took a deep breath. He felt like a child again, or maybe he just wasn't as grown up as he thought. To be taken care of again. It was nice, that just for a bit, it felt like someone cared about him